Arts & Crafts Dining Room Set #21: Dry Fit!

I found another day off, so I immediately ran out into the shop before I could get distracted. I was able to finish the joinery on the base ends. As with everything else in life, the relative ease of the BeadLock Pro has disadvantages in repeatable accuracy. I don’t know how or why, but I do eight mortises and they only come out within 1/16” of each other. This has caused a 1/8” difference between the mortises, pretty much ruining my reveal on the spindles. I’ll figure out a way to remedy this, but it’s a hassle. I still need to make the mortises for the stretchers, but other than finishing the parts, I’m almost ready for a glue up.

One thing I did figure out is that you need to glue the tenon stock into the ends of the aprons/stretchers to effect a dry fit (the spindles have old-fashioned integral tenons). This way the tenon stays put during assembly & disassembly. I’m thinking about refinishing the top, so that may affect what I do with the base.

I made an account just to get in contact with you. I’m a high school senior with the task of creating something I have a career interest in. I want to make a mechanical clock out of wood and saw you made the same one I want to make about in 2010. Did it turn out to work? Does it still run smoothly? Would an amateur in wood working be able to pull it off? Sorry for posting this as a comment but my account is too young to message people directly.